Earlier, we reported about Nivin Pauly starring in a political drama written and directed by B Unnikrishnan. On Tuesday, the makers of the film revealed the title alongside its trailer. The film has been titled Prathichaya. Produced by Gokulam Gopalan under his banner Sree Gokulam Movies and RD Illuminations LLP, Prathichaya marks the first collaboration between Nivin and writer-director B Unnikrishnan. The film also stars Balachandra Menon, Sharf U Dheen, Ann Augustine, Nishanth Sagar, Harisree Ashokan, Saikumar, Vishnu Agasthya, Chiraang Jani, Neethu Krishna, and Sabitha Anand, among others.
From the trailer, it appears that Balachandra Menon plays the state's Chief Minister in the film, and Nivin stars as his secretary.
The trailer starts with Nivin's character addressing the audience in a Ted Talk-like event. He asks the audience, "Your designation tag or pay package might define victory, but should it be like that?" He then wonders whether Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, former Kerala CM EMS Namboodiripad and Communist leader AK Gopalan (AKG) are winners or losers. Then, the trailer hints at a Lucifer-like drama with key members from multiple factions vying for the ultimate power in Kerala's political landscape. Beyond the setting, even character entry shots and framing are reminiscent of actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran's big-scale political potboiler, starring Mohanlal in the lead role.
"Image is destiny," reads the tagline for the film. On the technical front, Prathichaya has cinematography by Chandru Selvaraj, music by Justin Varghese, editing by Manoj, costume by Siji Nobel Thomas, art direction by Aji Kutiyani, and production design by Shajie Naduvil.
Production on the film has been wrapped, with locations including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, the Himalayas, St Petersburg, and Dubai. While the makers are yet to announce the release date, the film is expected to hit theatres soon.
Meanwhile, Nivin Pauly's upcoming films also include Dear Students with Nayanthara, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit with Girish AD in Malayalam, as well as Benz with Raghava Lawrence and Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai with Ram in Tamil.